Her First Grandchild
by JaimeBlue
Summary: Molly Weasley makes a discovery on Diagon Alley. PostWar fic.


Molly Weasley rolled her eyes at her husband as he entered a shop on Diagon Alley, knowing he had been attracted by the strange muggle contraption displayed in the front window. Merlin only knew what a 'laptop' was and what possible use it could have.

Her attention was attracted by the screeching of a crying baby - a sound all too familiar to the mother of seven. She couldn't help but smile at the presence of a new life after so many deaths in the course of the last war. It had been far too long since she had last heard the wailing of tiny lungs - far too long.

"Please, Peter, do be quiet for Daddy," an exasperated voice said before sighing. "How I wish your mother were still here."

Molly would have been amused had the voice not been so full of sadness - and been almost as familiar as her own. With dread, she turned around to face an outdoor cafe, eyes growing wide at the sight of her third-eldest child, wild red hair untamed and glasses askew, holding a child that could have been no more than six months old.

Her baby Percy had a baby of his own.

How could she not know of this? She had not seen her son since the disastrous Christmas when he had accompanied Minister Scrimgeour to the Burrow and had left with a face full of dinner, but despite that, she would have thought to at least receive an owl telling her that she had finally become a grandmother.

The wailing continued and Percy's face grew more and more lost as he tried various things to try and calm the child, to no avail. Molly's instincts kicked in and she walked over to her son's table, picked up the crying baby and lifted him to her shoulder. She cooed gently and rocked until, finally, the squawking died down.

"Mum- Mother," Percy stuttered in shock. "How-"

"Why didn't you tell me, Percy?" She asked, her voice low enough so as not to disturb the child who was quickly falling asleep on her shoulder.

"I didn't know myself until a week ago," he admitted, his eyes closing in grief, and any anger she felt immediately evaporated. "Penny, she- we broke up a year ago, and she never told me."

Molly remembered the name of Penelope Clearwater, her son's girlfriend at Hogwarts. Percy, ever the private person, had not spoken much of her, but when he did, he did so fondly. She had not known if their relationship had continued or when it had ended, until now. What she did know was the twinge of grief she had felt upon seeing the young woman's name on the list of casualties of the last battle against Voldemort.

And now that young woman had left her son with a heavy responsibility, one he was obviously unprepared for. She thought back to when he was younger and she had always sent him off to play with his older brothers whenever she was caring for the twins, Ron or Ginny. Perhaps if she had let him watch her care for them, maybe he would have more confidence in caring for this darling child that even now showed a sprinkling of the traditional Weasley red hair.

"Why don't you come home, Percy," she said after a silence in which they had seemed to communicate without speaking. She had always been close to her Percy, always been able to sense his thoughts and feelings, and he in turn had always been sensitive to hers. They had been so close once - she longed to have that closeness again.

"I'm not welcome there, you know that," he replied dejectedly, though she could tell he longed for it to be untrue no matter how he hid his true feelings. "You remember what happened last time."

"Things change, Percy. Peter changes things. At least come for a few hours and I can give you a few tips on handling him. I do, after all, have some experience in caring for small children."

He gave her a look of such gratitude that she had not seen since his eleventh birthday, when instead of the loud noisy party Arthur and the other children had wanted to give him, she had insisted on a quiet evening with just the family. He had always hated noise and crowds.

"Molly? Molly dear, where are you?"

Percy's face grew panicked and she immediately intervened, raising a hand from the baby to cup Percy's chin and rub his cheek with her thumb. "Everything will be all right, Percy. I will be here the whole time." At his nod, she placed the now sleeping Peter into his arms and turned away so that her next words would not wake the child.

"Arthur, come here for a moment. I would like you to meet... your grandson."

The End


End file.
